It is the professional assessment of Manteca Police Chief Stephen Schluer that the city needs 86 sworn police officers by mid-2026.

It is why Schluer plans to ask for three additional positions in the upcoming budget.

The department currently has all of its 80 allocated police officer positions filled, including two of five positions funded with a federal COPS grant.

The remaining three COPS partially funded positions are expected to be included in the upcoming budget for the fiscal year starting July 1.

The police chief said he plans to ask for three additional positions on top of the officers partially funded with the COPS grant.

Given Manteca is expected to reach 95,000 residents by year’s end, some believe the city needs 95 officers instead of the 86 the police department would have if the council is able to fund all six positions next fiscal year.

That is based on the assumption there is a standard of one officer per 1,000 residents,

No such standard as an official measurement of public safety effectiveness exists.

Schluer said the city is focused on a service standard of 60-40 — 60 percent of the time officers are tied up on calls and 40 percent of the time they are proactively patrolling in a bid to deter crime.

Schluer’s goal of 86 officers compared to the current 80 is based on that objective.

Action by the City Council to order five patrol units last month knowing that Measure Q funds will be flowing into city coffers in the last quarter of this year, means the problem of officers having to double up in units and therefore reduce the area of the city police are able to patrol will be eliminated or at least become a rarity.

As of Tuesday, the department had 15 patrol units available for use with five in the shop.

The five additional vehicles, that could be delivered as early as October or as late as January 2025 depending upon their availability, will give the department 23 patrol units.

Currently on the department’s heaviest day for staffing, which is Thursday, if none of the assigned officers aren’t sick or have training, there is a need for 18 vehicles.

Currently, only 15 units are available.

To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatr@mantecabulletin.com